Great LeadAARs: Napoleon Bonaparte in World War II
Welcome to my second AAR! I still have an AAR ongoing, but I've been contemplating this one for a long time and finally decided to get it started. I haven't done any gameplay yet, but there's a lot of backstory starting in 1918, so I figured I'd go ahead and get it underway. Hope you enjoy!
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November 11, 1918
Napoleon Bonaparte strode up to the battery as it finished firing off its last bit of ammunition. The men stepped back from the guns, wiping their brows and just looking up to see Napoleon coming towards them. Immediately they snapped to attention and saluted him. “General Bonaparte!” they chorused.
“At ease, men,” Napoleon waved. “I’ve just come to the front to see this armistice for myself. Personally, I think we should have kept on fighting them all the way into Berlin.” The soldiers nodded energetically. Napoleon smiled. He knew he was an extremely popular general. By now, his name was known all throughout France. Before the war, he had been a loud proponent for a restructuring of France’s artillery. The King had failed to listen then, but once the war got underway, Napoleon’s audience had become much more sympathetic. He was assigned to work under the Chief of Staff of the Army and was given the power to completely restructure and upgrade the guns and artillery of the entire Army. Within two short years his ideas were realized; 1916 saw a vast improvement in the energy and fighting capability of the French Army, all thanks to him.
It was at that time that Napoleon finally took up a field command for himself. He had been studying with the General Staff while he was restructuring the artillery, and had learned a great deal about the style of fighting that was taking place in this war. Once he reached the front lines, he made himself known almost immediately for the new superior firepower tactics he introduced. German divisions coming up against his artillery found themselves advancing into a wall of flame. His name became respected on both sides of the fight.
In mid-1917, Napoleon’s fame increased when he unexpectedly found himself in command of an entire division during the most intense fighting of the war to-date. The division’s commander was killed in an surprise artillery bombardment, leaving Napoleon the next-in-line to take control. Napoleon’s command demonstrated a brilliant understanding of tactics and strategy, and he was left in control of the division for the remainder of the war.
Napoleon brought himself back to the moment. He understood what had shaken him from his daydream – the front had suddenly grown eerily silent. The steady drone of artillery and gunfire that had been with him for over two years now was suddenly gone. So it appeared that the armistice might hold after all.
“Well, men, let’s hope this keeps up,” Napoleon said. “Now that the fighting’s stopped, be careful and don’t go off getting yourselves killed.” The men nodded again. “How’re you all holding up? You getting everything you need from the quartermaster?” Conditions in the trenches had been so bad in 1917 that the entire army had almost revolted.
“Yes, sir,” one of the soldiers said. “Warm meals are getting to us often enough. Should be much better now that the fighting’s stopped.”
“Let’s hope so,” Napoleon said. He always kept the welfare of his soldiers as a high priority. Perhaps that’s why he was so well-liked: he gave a damn about his men. He returned his soldiers’ salutes and strode off. Soon they would all be allowed to leave the army and go back to civilian life, though it was looking increasingly like civilian life wasn’t going to be any better than army life. Rumors and worries were spreading through the nation on what was going to happen with so many soldiers returning and not enough jobs to go around. All of France’s industry in the north and been wrecked during the war, and it was unknown how long it would take to rebuild it. Inflation had also gotten pretty high during the war; life savings that had once promised a comfortable retirement now seemed insufficient. Last time he was in Paris, the people had seemed tense. Napoleon sensed that France’s troubles wouldn’t end with the war, though he hoped he was wrong.
Welcome to my second AAR! I still have an AAR ongoing, but I've been contemplating this one for a long time and finally decided to get it started. I haven't done any gameplay yet, but there's a lot of backstory starting in 1918, so I figured I'd go ahead and get it underway. Hope you enjoy!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
November 11, 1918
Napoleon Bonaparte strode up to the battery as it finished firing off its last bit of ammunition. The men stepped back from the guns, wiping their brows and just looking up to see Napoleon coming towards them. Immediately they snapped to attention and saluted him. “General Bonaparte!” they chorused.
“At ease, men,” Napoleon waved. “I’ve just come to the front to see this armistice for myself. Personally, I think we should have kept on fighting them all the way into Berlin.” The soldiers nodded energetically. Napoleon smiled. He knew he was an extremely popular general. By now, his name was known all throughout France. Before the war, he had been a loud proponent for a restructuring of France’s artillery. The King had failed to listen then, but once the war got underway, Napoleon’s audience had become much more sympathetic. He was assigned to work under the Chief of Staff of the Army and was given the power to completely restructure and upgrade the guns and artillery of the entire Army. Within two short years his ideas were realized; 1916 saw a vast improvement in the energy and fighting capability of the French Army, all thanks to him.
It was at that time that Napoleon finally took up a field command for himself. He had been studying with the General Staff while he was restructuring the artillery, and had learned a great deal about the style of fighting that was taking place in this war. Once he reached the front lines, he made himself known almost immediately for the new superior firepower tactics he introduced. German divisions coming up against his artillery found themselves advancing into a wall of flame. His name became respected on both sides of the fight.
In mid-1917, Napoleon’s fame increased when he unexpectedly found himself in command of an entire division during the most intense fighting of the war to-date. The division’s commander was killed in an surprise artillery bombardment, leaving Napoleon the next-in-line to take control. Napoleon’s command demonstrated a brilliant understanding of tactics and strategy, and he was left in control of the division for the remainder of the war.
Napoleon brought himself back to the moment. He understood what had shaken him from his daydream – the front had suddenly grown eerily silent. The steady drone of artillery and gunfire that had been with him for over two years now was suddenly gone. So it appeared that the armistice might hold after all.
“Well, men, let’s hope this keeps up,” Napoleon said. “Now that the fighting’s stopped, be careful and don’t go off getting yourselves killed.” The men nodded again. “How’re you all holding up? You getting everything you need from the quartermaster?” Conditions in the trenches had been so bad in 1917 that the entire army had almost revolted.
“Yes, sir,” one of the soldiers said. “Warm meals are getting to us often enough. Should be much better now that the fighting’s stopped.”
“Let’s hope so,” Napoleon said. He always kept the welfare of his soldiers as a high priority. Perhaps that’s why he was so well-liked: he gave a damn about his men. He returned his soldiers’ salutes and strode off. Soon they would all be allowed to leave the army and go back to civilian life, though it was looking increasingly like civilian life wasn’t going to be any better than army life. Rumors and worries were spreading through the nation on what was going to happen with so many soldiers returning and not enough jobs to go around. All of France’s industry in the north and been wrecked during the war, and it was unknown how long it would take to rebuild it. Inflation had also gotten pretty high during the war; life savings that had once promised a comfortable retirement now seemed insufficient. Last time he was in Paris, the people had seemed tense. Napoleon sensed that France’s troubles wouldn’t end with the war, though he hoped he was wrong.
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